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Sidekick Super Review: A Forgery of Fate (2025) by Elizabeth Lim
- Aug 26
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 23
The Basics
Book Length: 480 pages
Audiobook Length: ~15 hours
Grade Level: 7+
Lexile Level: HL670L
Goodreads Score: 4.26/5
Buy it HERE
Setting: Kingdom of A'landi, and the magical underwater realm of Ai'long
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Topics: Art, Magic, Dragons, Asian Mythology, Royalty, Court Politics
Plot: Truyan "Tru" Saigas is an artist--well, a forger, to be exact. Ever since her father vanished at sea five years ago, she’s taken on the responsibility of protecting and providing for her younger sisters. Her mother’s gambling addiction doesn't help. Their money disappears as quickly as Tru can earn it. So, Tru paints. With the guidance of her mentor, Gaari, and the precision of a master, she creates flawless forgeries and sells the fakes to the highest bidder. But Tru harbors another secret. Sometimes, when she paints, she glimpses the future. She has the gift of sight, and more often than she’d like, her brush brings visions—prophecies that always come true.
When her mother gambles away more than even Tru’s finest forgeries can cover, Tru is forced to accept an unusual proposal. A mysterious prince, believed to be a demon, offers her a deal: protection for her family, and a chance to discover what really happened to her father in exchange for her hand in marriage. Prince Elang is no demon, though. He is something far more formidable: half man, half dragon. Oh, and he's cursed with no heart. Tru must travel with him to his real home, the underwater kingdom of Ai’Long. There, she will need to use her gift to create her most important painting yet—one that will determine the fate of her missing father, her new husband, and the entire dragon kingdom.
Themes: fate vs. choice, revenge, gender and power, sacrifice for love, trust
You might like this book if you like:
Books like Caraval, Cinder, or Once Upon a Broken Heart
Books/series/movies like Shadow and Bone or Eragon
Shows like Once Upon a Time, Cursed (Netflix), or Carnival Row (Prime Video)
Newer movies like Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves or Damsel (Netflix) with Millie Bobby Brown
Other books by this author: Six Crimson Cranes (bonus: this is a series and set in the same world as A Forgery of Fate), Spin the Dawn (also a series), Reflection (a twisted tale retelling of Mulan)
Teaching A Forgery of Fate As a Full-Class Unit
Content
Language: very little, almost unnoticeable
Sex: some passionate kissing, and illusions about the term "wedding night"
Violence/Scariness: some fight scenes with bloody injuries, water demon attacks, and battles between warring armies
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: the main characters drink wine with their dinner
Class Novel-ability: This book is VERY romance fantasy, so I’m not sure it would engage an entire class. I don’t think it would appeal to students who typically avoid those genres. Content-wise, it’s completely appropriate, but I’m not sure the teachable themes outweigh the potential lack of interest for some students. It's a "for fun" read.
The Star Qualities
This book is steeped in rich East Asian mythology. I've always been fascinated by the ancient Greek gods and goddesses—but they’ve got nothing on these immortal dragon gods of the sea! The author beautifully weaves in myths and cultural traditions as the main character explores the breathtaking underwater world of Ai’Long.
While this story carries echoes of Beauty and the Beast, this retelling literally submerges readers into a new world—complete with its own customs, rules, and magic. Think curses, dragons, demons, gods, queens, immortals, prophecies, magical scrolls, and so much more.
The author writes with vivid imagery and lush sensory detail. The main character is obsessed with two things: food and painting—which results in some of the most tantalizing passages. Whether describing a bowl of noodles or a canvas coming to life, the prose will make your mouth water and your imagination soar. Her descriptions are scrumptious—truly a feast for the senses. There are countless snippets perfect for use as mentor texts to teach students how to craft rich sensory language and visual imagery in their writing.
The book has typical fantasy and romantic tropes, but atypical endings. It screams romance with the whole "marriage of convenience to a secret royal prince" plot point, but it’s quickly clear that Tru and Elang’s journey won’t follow an expected path or lead to a picture-perfect ending. I was on pins and needles during the final chapters, desperate to know how it would all unfold. The author throws in just enough surprises to keep readers guessing until the very end.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read a few pages of chapter 2. Start at the beginning of page 17 and read until mid page 20 (stop after paragraph 5--the line "Oh, I was trying.")
If you don't, read the above section in the Kindle reading sample here
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Text
This passage is absolutely loaded with sensory details. The way the narrator describes the noodles she’s eating is incredible—you can practically see, smell, and taste them yourself. Beyond that, the section shows off all kinds of writerly craft: personification, dashes and italics for emphasis, figurative language like hyperbole, metaphors, and even symbolism. It also uses contrast between the narrator and her friend, plus a wide variety of sentence lengths and rhythms that keep the writing dynamic. This would make a fantastic mentor text for students to practice writing their own sensory-rich descriptions—everyone has a favorite food they can bring to life on the page. Honestly, it’s a golden mentor text. You’re welcome.
I love the emotion in this passage. The structure—paragraph breaks, italics, and repetition—mirrors the narrator’s distress, while the word choice and metaphor deepen the impact. Even the pacing reflects her unraveling mental state. It’s a powerful example of how writers can portray emotion through craft.
Sentences For Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining/rearranging:
"I walked, feeling the grass prick at my ankles and watching the butterflies dance from flower to flower." (A Forgery of Fate, p. 248)
I walked.
I felt the grass.
The grass pricked at my ankles.
I watched the butterflies.
They danced from flower to flower.
"It was a popular game during the festival: You would buy a paper lantern, decorate it, and compose a riddle on one of its sides, hiding the answer on the inside." (p. 440)
It was a popular game during the festival.
You would buy a paper lantern.
You would decorate it.
You would compose a riddle.
You would write the riddle on one of its sides.
You would hide the answer on the inside.
"It was the ring from my vision exactly as I'd drawn it: nine black pearls in a circlet around a giant white opal." (p. 88)
It was the ring from my vision.
It was exactly as I had drawn it.
It had nine black pearls.
The pearls were in a circlet.
The circlet was laid around a giant white opal.
Sentences for Imitation:
"By instructed, I suspected he meant warned." (p. 201)
I like the structure of this sentence because it carries subtext. Teens love subtext! The reflective tone and voice draw the reader into the narrator’s thought process, while the wordplay reveals how the narrator questions the speaker’s true intent.
"Everything had gone better than I'd foreseen, and nothing--absolutely nothing--could ruin my mood." (p. 48)
I like how this sentence uses repetition and em dashes to emphasize the narrator's optimism. It's simple and effective—something I think all students could replicate in almost any piece they've written."
"My heart sank and sank until I could hardly breath. All I could croak out was one word: "Baba."" (p. 23)
This one has really good word choice. I also love the dramatic ending with the colon and the abrupt quotation. It emphasizes the deep emotion of the narrator.
"Insufferable, intolerable, absolutely fickle and unpleasant. These were the nicer words that came to mind when I thought of Elang the abominable half dragon." (p. 242)
I really like how the sentence structure creates such a wry, playful tone. The exaggeration in the first sentence fragment is relatable and conveys the narrator’s sense of humor. It’s definitely a strong example for students to study when learning about voice and tone.
Have you used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
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